How do calendar invitations work in Confetti emails?

How the calendar invitation works

Which emails include a calendar invitation?

Update the event in attendees' calendars

Why wasn't the event added to the calendar automatically?

Turn off the calendar invitation

Why is there no calendar invitation in my emails?

The event is added to an attendee's calendar when they sign up for your event via when the attendee receive the confirmation email (Welcome/Ticket). Depending on the attendee's own email and calendar settings, it's either added automatically or added with one click.

Outlook
Attendees using Outlook see calendar buttons directly in the email.

Updated details
Emails you send after the confirmation email (Welcome/Ticket) that include calendar links update the calendar entry with the latest event details, for example a new date or description.

Declined registration
When an attendee declines and receives the Decline email, the event is removed from their calendar.

Note: In some versions of Outlook, a declined registration marks the event as cancelled instead of removing it. The attendee can then remove it from the calendar.

Invite email
Includes a calendar invitation, but it's not added automatically. Recipients can add it themselves via the calendar invitation in the email. This entry is not connected to their registration, so it isn't updated if the event changes. It works well for save the date emails.

Welcome email
Sent when someone signs up. Adds the event to the attendee's calendar automatically, depending on their settings.

Later emails with calendar links
Messages you send after the confirmation email (Welcome/Ticket) email that include calendar links update the entry that was added from the welcome email.

Note: Calendars treat the entry from the invite email and the entry from the confirmation email (Welcome/Ticket) as two separate events. An attendee who adds both will see the event twice, and only the one from the welcome email is kept up to date. They can safely delete the one from the invite email.

Calendar entries are updated when you send attendees a new email that includes calendar links, not when you save your changes. Only entries added from the confirmation email (Welcome/Ticket) email are updated.

The new details replace the old ones in the attendee's existing calendar entry it the entry was added via the confirmation email.

Whether the event is added automatically depends on each attendee's own email and calendar settings, not on Confetti. You can share this section with attendees who have questions.
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This is the default for most accounts. With the other options, the attendee needs to accept the event in the email:

Only if the sender is known
The invitation shows as a card in the email. The attendee clicks themselves to add it.

When I respond to the invitation in email
The attendee always needs to respond in the email.

Note: The invitation must be sent to the same Gmail address the attendee reads it in. Forwarded emails aren't recognized as invitations.
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Connected calendar
The account needs a calendar, for example Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, Exchange, or a Google account added to the new Outlook.

​Automatic processing
The setting 'Automatically process meeting requests and responses' must be turned on. You find it under 'Settings' → 'Calendar' → 'Events from email' , and the name can vary between Outlook versions. It's on by default, and the event is then added as tentative when the email arrives.
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Note: The invitation must be sent to the mailbox the attendee reads. Aliases work, but forwarded emails and distribution lists don't.
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Good to know: If an attendee added the event with a Google Calendar link instead of the invitation, that entry is a separate copy and won't be updated when the event changes.
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If you don't want to send a calendar invitation with an email, uncheck 'Location & calendar links' under 'Messages' > 'Email' > Email in question. The email is then sent without the calendar invitation.
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If your workspace sends emails through Rule, no calendar invitation is attached. Rule doesn't support email attachments, which the calendar invitation needs. Gmail may still sometimes suggest adding the event to the calendar based on the email's content, but this is Gmail's own feature and not something Confetti controls.